The cricket was a Christmas gift. It was something specifically asked for and hard to find. I was very happy to have found it and be able to make someone's Christmas a little brighter.

Heavy duty, should last a lot longer than steel hods. Because of its wide mouth, it's a little harder to load coal into a narrow hopper on top of a coal stove than the steel hods, but with practice, I seem to spill less and less as I get more experience with it.

As is, only ladies might scrape their shoes on this dog's back; men would surely tip it over. It is heavy and well made but needs to be affixed to a square of concrete to be sturdy enough to remain in place while scraping the mud off a man's boot. Attractive as a decorative touch but needs more support to be an effective tool.

I have this little doggie in front of my gas fireplace, but plan on purchasing more to put on our front porch. They are quite sturdy and can be used to scrape you're boots on but I hope no one will!